Divine Feminine Divine Masculine: Guest Blog Post by Teresa Cribelli, PhD, Eminent Reiki Master

Reiki is a, gentle, compassionate method for bringing energetic balance and clearing on the physical, emotional, and mental levels. Because Reiki is about balance, it can be especially helpful at the changing of seasons.  All versions of Reiki are compassionate and loving with the capacity to bring deep peace and healing, while Eminent Reiki^TM focuses on balancing the feminine and masculine energies we all carry within us. Fall and winter, seasons that are energetically feminine, provide us opportunities to focus on our inner world.  In traditional societies located in parts of the world with changing seasons, the winter was a time of quiet and reflection (not inaction, but a turning to the inner forces that nourish and revitalize us).  It was a period of stored seeds and pickled vegetables and preserved fruits, of relying on the resources harvested and built up during the bright spring and summer months.  Winter shifts us from the outward, masculine seasons (yang) to the inner, feminine seasons (yin).

Murmurmation (Yin). collage. Teresa Cribelli

Reiki energy can help us calibrate our physical bodies with these seasonal energetic shifts.  During winter the focus may be on the feminine, but that does not mean the masculine goes away.  Rather, the changing seasons can be seen as a pendulum that moves between the inner and the outer, the revitalizing feminine and the energizing masculine.  Winter is in balance with summer; the two are part of the whole, and when they operate in equilibrium, each supports the other – the masculine and feminine in balance.  There is the very old Greek story of the goddess of the harvest, Demeter.  When her daughter, Persephone, is kidnapped by Hades and taken to the Underworld, Demeter falls into a deep depression and winter remains well into the time of spring and summer.  The world withers into dust and grey skies and people cannot grow their seeds.  The feminine out of balance leads to inertia.  In another Greek myth, Helios the sun god, in the form of a charioteer drives his team of horses across the sky each day, bringing warmth and energizing light to the world.  When his son, Phaethon, steals the chariot one morning and loses control of the horses, the day lasts for weeks, and all of the plants on earth catch fire and burn. The people are thirsty and hot and again have no food. Too much yin and the earth stagnates, too much yang and it burns.

Divine Yang. collage. Teresa Cribelli

As we move from summer into fall, we can look at this as rebalancing on the macro and the micro levels – the masculine seasons moving into the feminine seasons both within and without.  While the seasons lean toward the feminine or the masculine, over the course of the year, they are in balance. 

This is a useful way to think about Eminent Reiki^TM; bringing balance to the feminine and the masculine energies so that we are nourished and energized year round.

Reiki Description

The practice of Reiki is an ancient healing art, one that is the energy of love and compassion. It supports us through clearing and balancing the energies of the systems and bodies, creating opportunity for health and wellbeing on all levels. Reiki can be received with the practitioner’s hands on or off of the body. The client simply relaxes and receives as the practitioner senses where clearing is needed and allows the Reiki energy to flow to the source of pain. Reiki energy can only be used for positive outcomes.  An all-purpose tool that introduces ease and grace into the lives of those who receive and practice it, Reiki is a cherished method of thousands. There are many types of Reiki practiced on Earth at this time; each variation is an expression of love and support.

Eminent Reiki^{TM is} a new approach to Reiki with a special male/female component unique to the Eminent Reiki^TM process. Not only are the male and female used together to create a special healing experience, they are specifically blended together into a new energy that is part of the Eminent Reiki^TM attunement.  A key component of healing is balancing the male and female within and Eminent Reiki^TM addresses this need specifically in the energy and approach to healing.

For more information, visit the Eminent Reiki^TM website:

http://www.eminentreiki.com and check these research links below:

Effect of Reiki Therapy on Pain and Anxiety in Adults: An In-Depth Literature Review of Randomized Trials with Effect Size Calculations

Reiki Is Better Than Placebo and Has Broad Potential as a Complementary Health Therapy

Reiki Reduces Burnout Among Community Mental Health Clinicians

River City Mural, collage. Temerson Square. Tuscaloosa, AL

Click here for the UA annoucement and more about Teresa’s  Ephemeral River City Mural Project. Catch it while you can! (east side of Coppertop Bar y’all)

What got you interested in Reiki?  What training have you received?

My pathway to practicing Reiki began with acupuncture.  About 20 years ago I consulted an acupuncturist for a chronic pain condition (an MD recommended I try acupuncture – traditional western medical treatments had not been effective for managing my pain).  I began to feel much better after two weeks of acupuncture treatments, and I found that when the pain returned at night (I had been having trouble sleeping) I could make it go away by meditating on the acupuncture points used in my sessions.  Through visualizing the acupuncture points I could attain the same level of relaxation I experienced when I was being treated.  It was an accidental discovery that ended up being life changing.  

In a sense, acupuncture taught me how to meditate and relax, but at that point I still saw moving energy as something outside of myself, I needed a third party to help make the shift.  About ten years later my sister became a Reiki practitioner and gave me a session after I suffered a painful miscarriage.  Her hands became hot during that session and it felt so healing – relaxing and calming on both a physical and emotional level – that I knew I wanted to learn how to do it too.  From there I took the Eminent Reiki^TMclasses in Colorado and received my attunements.  This past summer I received my level three Master Practitioner attunement in Eminent Reiki^TM, a version of Reiki that focuses on balancing the masculine and feminine energies we all carry within us.  My original intent when I first started practicing Reiki was to help relax and heal physical ailments, but in my self-practice I have found I focus more on emotional healing.  Reiki can be a wonderful method for letting go of worries and anxieties from the past.

What got you interested in collage?

I love illustrations and images – it is has been something I have been attracted to my entire life. When I was five I ripped all the horse pictures out of a hand-me-down set of story books.  I could not read yet, and I wanted to free the illustrations from the books.  I had so much fun arranging and re-arranging those horse illustrations before I realized with a shock that books were not supposed to be torn apart.  Nonetheless, I kept coming back to making collages.  I used to shellac images of animals from Ranger Rick magazine onto scraps from my father’s woodpile, and I still have a collage I made in second grade art class.  It contains an image of a plastic horse and cowgirl from a toy catalog, a sewing machine, some aluminum foil, and a photo of Evonne Goolagong,the tennis player.  I have no idea why I put those subjects together at the age of seven, but they illustrate the thrill and power of collage – juxtaposing seemingly unrelated images together in interesting ways.  For me it is a form of meditation.  It is a way of expressing my inner world, an aspect of myself that does not manifest in a linear way. 

How do Reiki and/or collage change your day to day experience of the world?

Both are a form of meditation, of accessing the calm center that is inside all of us. Reiki helps relax and release in the realm of energy, while collage facilitates self-expression.  Both help bring to consciousness what needs to be healed or understood or joyfully expressed.  It is a way to practice self-love.  As physical objects collages also become a meditation  – for me and the people who view them.  By contemplating the juxtaposition of images, we can, to quote the photographer Minor White, “[learn] to make chance moments occur by looking at anything until [we see] what else it is.”  This shift in perspective can facilitate healing and true self expression.

Teresa offers Reiki sessions at Alberta Orchard Wellness. Please utilize our online booking 2 step process or contact our office for pre-payment and scheduling: 

Click to pre-pay.reiki-treatment 

Click to book appointment

Our natural state is to move in rhythm with the seasonal tides. Summertime brings with it a desire to immerse ourselves in the lush splendor of nature and revel in the joy of life. Like the world around us, we lean into the Solar energies of playfulness, growth, expansion, and manifestation; welcoming the season of fiery transformation! During these long, jubilant days, the heavy air can feel nearly electric with the flurry of activity around us. Balmy nights bring with them a choir of insects and frogs exalting in the all too short time between Summer Solstice and the harvest season. What follows is both traditional wisdom, and my personal experience working in partnership with crystal allies, to attune to the energies of the seasons and resolve imbalance within the subtle body.

In the human energy body, or electromagnetic field, the energy of Summer resonates with both the Sacral and the Solar Plexus Chakras, invoking the elements of water and fire. Due to their simple but perfect crystalline structure at the atomic level, crystals have the ability to consistently hold a higher vibration, or frequency, than ours. As a complementary modality, crystals and stones can offer tremendous support for healing and recalibrating the major energy centers of the body. So how does that work? In theory, this is due to the Principle of Entrainment. A crystal’s base resonant frequency, or rate of vibration, is similar to but usually higher than our own. As we work with these allies, the stones are able to entrain with our electromagnetic field raising our vibration to a healthier place, recalibrating imbalances, and helping to clear energetic blockages thus allowing for the movement of stagnant energy via their high harmonic emissions.

In the physical body, the Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana) is located near the sacrum at the base of the spine and between the pubic bone and navel; physically corresponding to the Sacral Nerve Plexus. It exerts influence over the reproductive organs, the lymph, the blood, and other bodily fluids. It is our creative power center, the place where we experience the sweetness of life, the joy of living. This is where we physically feel into our intuition (think “gut feeling”). Unimpeded Sacral energy is essential to manifestation, creativity, and to experiencing the full spectrum of human emotions. The second of the seven major chakras expresses as the color orange making orange stones perfect for work with the Sacral Chakra. Your own intuition is the best guide when choosing stones to work with. Below are some of my personal favorites:

• Carnelian: balancing and healing ovaries and testes, increases vitality and energy (BIG TIME), brings an influx of life force, sexual and creative energies
• Vanadinite: increases stamina and perseverance, creativity, accomplishment
• Orange Calcite: creativity, sexuality, playfulness, confidence, innovation, energy

Sacral Crystals

The Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura) is located between the navel and the xiphoid process at the base of the rib cage and corresponds to the Solar Plexus nerve cluster. This energy center is responsible for generating Agni or digestive fire while governing the digestive organs and processes. Energetically, it is the seat of our personal power, home to the ego, our self confidence, personal will, and influences the way we assert ourselves in the world. The third of the seven major chakras expresses as the color yellow. All yellow or golden stones are appropriate for work with the Manipura Chakra. Here are few to get you started:

• Citrine: premier stone for strengthening personal will and awakening creativity, increases ability to bring thought into physical form (manifestation), stimulates the endocrine system, and encourages proper digestion and metabolism
• Pyrite: strengthens will, helps one overcome fear and take action, boosts vitality
• Tiger Eye: balance between extremes, increases vitality, grounds the Solar ray
• Golden Labradorite: promotes confidence in social situations, creativity, manifestation

Solar Plexus Stones

Okay, we have the stones, now what do we do with them?

One of the easiest ways to work with the stones is by simply wearing them as jewelry.  Adorning yourself with rings and bracelets made of your favorite orange or yellow stones keeps them in close proximity to the actual energy center, however, simply having them on your person works well too. The idea is to keep the stones in your electro-magnetic field which for most folks can extend up to 4 feet around the physical body. Keeping stones in your pockets also keeps them close to both of these energy centers. Hold your stones while in meditation or prayer to attune to their frequencies especially while reciting mantra or focusing on your intentions. You may enjoy placing the stones directly on the specific energy center while in relaxation. The most effective stones to work with in this way are at least the size of a quarter. Having large specimen stones or crystal grids in your work or living space is a great way to amplify and further surround yourself with the stones’ energetic influence.

Attuning to the ever-changing energies of the seasons while opening to understanding your own energetic nature provides an essential opportunity for lasting transformation and deep healing. Working with crystals can offer clarity and insight, a pathway to working with the higher self, and support as a complimentary healing modality alongside all other healing practices. On the wheel of the year, as we reach the crescendo of life-force energy in the world, I hope you will be inspired to welcome energy work with crystals into your life to grow, embrace your expansive nature, and transform.

So where do we find these allies and more information? 

On-Site:

• Johnson’s Garden and Cafe (johnsonsgardenandcafe.com) in Duncanville
• Beans, Books, and Candles Metaphysical Shoppe in Birmingham (bookbeancandle.com).
• The Golden Temple in Birmingham (goldentemplehealthfoods.com)
• Annual Tannehill Gem and Mineral Show at Tannehill State Park is the first full weekend of June.
• Coming Soon!! Stones will be available later this year through Painted Lotus Yoga and Wellness in Tuscaloosa (paintedlotusyoga.com). Watch for updates on social media and on the website.
• Crystal Healing Sessions by appointment with Clarissa at Alberta Orchard Wellness (crystal healing session)

Online:

• Sage Goddess: sagegoddess.com
• Earthegy: earthegy.com
• Crystal Dragonfly: https://crystal-dragonfly.net

For a wealth of credible crystal and crystal healing information visit the Hibiscus Moon Crystal Academy page at: www.hibiscusmooncrystalacademy.com